Emerald Advisers LLC Sells 45,457 Shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Emerald Advisers LLC lessened its position in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 38.6% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 72,267 shares of the company’s stock after selling 45,457 shares during the quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $8,849,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gallacher Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the second quarter worth about $274,000. Norden Group LLC acquired a new position in Weatherford International in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $346,000. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 7.5% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 20,245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,479,000 after acquiring an additional 1,416 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 2.4% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 212,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,959,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp increased its holdings in Weatherford International by 0.8% in the second quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 24,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,987,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on WFRD shares. Raymond James cut their target price on Weatherford International from $161.00 to $158.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays upped their target price on Weatherford International from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Weatherford International in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price target for the company. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $153.88.

Weatherford International Stock Down 3.5 %

WFRD stock opened at $90.05 on Friday. Weatherford International plc has a twelve month low of $82.16 and a twelve month high of $135.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.59 billion, a PE ratio of 14.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.61. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $113.58 and its 200-day moving average is $115.59.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.74 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 49.69% and a net margin of 9.19%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.12 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Weatherford International plc will post 6.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 13th. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.18%.

Weatherford International Company Profile

Weatherford International plc, an energy services company, provides equipment and services for the drilling, evaluation, completion, production, and intervention of oil, geothermal, and natural gas wells worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Drilling and Evaluation; Well Construction and Completions; and Production and Intervention.